Can't Fight This Forever
by DarkWarriorMinerva
Summary: Wally is at war with himself. No matter what he does, he can never feel in control of his mind or emotions. Regardless of how much he tries to be happy, he barely clings to life. If life has taught him one thing, it's that just because he's breathing, just because his heart is beating, doesn't mean he's alive. Contains HoennShipping and one-sided NewRivalShipping.
1. Chapter 1

_"__Everyday... every night... I feel the world... my emotions... closing in on me... when all I want... is to die..._

The buzzing of the alarm clock woke Wally up at about 9:30 in the morning. It was becoming increasingly difficult to get out of bed every morning. You wouldn't know it just by looking at him walking down the street, but every night when he went to sleep, he would pray to Arceus that he would fall asleep and not wake up ever again.

"Hello?" Wally's roommate, May, peered at him from around the bedroom door. She was his best friend, the one who cared about him the most, some days he felt like she was the only one who ever cared about him.

"Hey Wally, are you feeling alright today?" May asked him as she walked into the room.

"Yeah, I guess..." he responded, gazing downward.

May sat on the bed next to him and said to him, "Still been feeling really blue lately?"

Wally nodded. He wanted so badly to cry, but he held back. Boy, was it hard.

"Hey, little buddy!" a voice called out to Wally from downstairs, a voice that he immediately recognized as May's next-door neighbor and boyfriend Brendan.

Yeah, they were pretty good friends, but Wally couldn't help but feel jealous of Brendan. He was so lighthearted, so happy to be alive, when Wally spent every waking moment wishing that he was dead.

But, as much as he refused to admit it, the thing that _really_ made him envious of Brendan was his relationship with May. Wally had been in love with May for a long time, perhaps since they met, when her father Norman helped him catch his Ralts.

But there was one other thing keeping them apart – their ages. May was eighteen, Wally was fourteen. May would probably want someone older than Wally – which is possibly one of the reasons why she picked Brendan, who was also eighteen.

"We'll be right down, Brenny!" May called out to Brendan, and then turned to Wally and said, "C'mon Wally! Brendan probably brought some cool games for us to play today!" as she headed towards the staircase.

"I'll be down soon!" Wally called out after them, trying to sound chipper, trying to hide how he really felt deep down inside. As he stood there for a few minutes, he rolled up the sleeve of his shirt, staring at his scar-covered arm. If a complete stranger were to see his bare arms, his arms wouldn't even look human to said stranger, do to the countless number of cut and burn marks. This is why he always wears long sleeves, no matter how hot it gets.

* * *

After Wally's mind came back to Earth, he headed downstairs to hang out with May and Brendan. Maybe that would bring his emotions back up to a tolerable level.

When he reached the bottom of the staircase, Brendan was there to greet him.

"Hey, little buddy! I managed to pick up MarioKart Double Dash at GameStop yesterday!" he said to Wally enthusiastically, "Wanna team up against May? Two against one will surely come out on top!"

"That sounds nice..." Wally responded uneasily, trying so hard to hold back the urge to burst into tears of despair right were he stood.

They turned on the game and played out their race. As promised, Brendan and Wally won against May and the computer-controlled characters.

"Yay! We won!" Brendan exclaimed, "Up top, bro!" Brendan said to Wally, holding up his hand for Wally to give him a high-five.

But, Wally couldn't be happy about this little victory in the slightest. All he could think about was his constant psychological pain. So many painful thoughts and memories kept running through his head.

"Wally?" Brendan asked, "Are you okay?"

_"__Stop crying! You little brat!"_

_"__I'm sorry! I can't help it!"_

_"__You're so selfish! You have a roof over your head, you have all the food you could ever want, you have warm clothes, you have people taking good care of you! Stop acting like you have it bad!_

_"__I'm sorry! I don't know why I feel so depressed!"_

_"__Well you should stop being so selfish! You should just cheer up!"_

Not even his own family could understand his plight. They didn't even try.

"You look kinda out of it, Wally. Are you alright?" asked May.

Wally couldn't even think about responding. All he could think about was his constant pain. He began sweating profusely, his breathing became heavy and rapid, his heart began pounding in his chest, he felt dizzy as all fuck, he was losing it.

"Wally?"

He fell to his hands and knees and started puking like crazy. He began gasping for breath. May and Brendan knelt beside him, trying to help him relax, but to no avail. Then, Wally's body gave out and he collapsed on the living room floor.


	2. Chapter 2

Wally woke up laying in bed again. That panic attack that he'd just had was worse than usual, like there was water in his lungs, like his body was on fire. All he could think about the horrible things that his family said to him, telling him that he's selfish for crying or being depressed, telling him that he should just stop being sad. They just didn't see that it wasn't that simple.

He just couldn't shake his depression. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't stop that crippling feeling that he was drowning from within. He had to do something to feel in control.

_Well...there is one thing..._ He opened the drawer of the nightstand standing next to his bed and pulled out one of several razor blades that he had hidden there.

_I know I shouldn't... but I must..._ Wally rolled up his left sleeve and took the blade to his skin. He couldn't explain it, but feeling the sting from the cut and seeing his blood well up in the wound gave him some sort of odd satisfaction. Kind of like a distraction from his hellish world.

He heard a couple knocks at the door.

"Hello?" May called out to him from behind the door. Wally panicked and rolled down his sleeve to hide the self-inflicted wound.

"Come in..." Wally responded nervously.

May opened the door, walked into the room and up to his bed, and sat down on these edge of the bed. "Feeling any better, Wally?

"I... guess..." he replied uneasily.

"Come here," she said to him in a sympathetic tone, embracing him in a hug.

"Wait a sec!" she took a look down at his left forearm and noticed the blood soaking through his sleeve, "You're bleeding right now, you know!"

"Uh-uh-uh-uh!" he stuttered._ Oh shit! She's gonna learn my secret!_

Sure enough, she rolled up his sleeve and immediately saw his bleeding, self-inflicted cuts, as well the other scars and burn marks on his arm, and the bloody razor blade lying on the bed.

"Oh my Arceus! Wally!" May exclaimed, "Have you been doing this to yourself?!"

At that point, Wally couldn't hold it in anymore and burst into tears right then and there. "I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for being such a fuck-up!"

May pulled him close into a tight hug and said, "Don't talk like that, Wally! You're not a fuck-up! You're perfect the way you are!"

Wally continued to sob, "Yes I am! All I am is a burden on everyone around me! I don't know why I'm even alive!"

Tears began to well up in May's eyes, "How long have you been doing this to yourself?!"

"About a year..." Wally sobbed, "Please don't tell anyone! My family would shit bricks if they found out about this!"

"I won't tell," May reassured him, "But I _will_ ask that you talk to your therapist about it."

"Okay... I guess so..." he responded uneasily, wiping tears away from his eyes with his right sleeve.

"Please, Wally. I just want you to get help," she asked him, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Wally curled up into a ball, stared downward and said, "It's okay, I don't deserve to be happy, anyway..."

May's eyes flashed in anger, "Don't you DARE talk that way EVER again!" she shouted.

Wally began bawling again.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you, Wally. I just hate to know that's how you view yourself..." she replied.

Wally buried his face in his knees and cried harder, "I only view myself that way because it's true!"

"That's a goddamn lie and you know it!" May snapped.

Wally sobbed more and said, "What the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I such a freak? My very _existence_ is a bane to the world! Maybe I should just disappear..."

Tears rolled down May's face, "Please don't say that! There's nothing wrong with you! You're not a freak! You make the the world a better place! You really do! And I don't want you to disappear! Please keep fighting, I beg of you!"

"I'm tired of fighting!" Wally bawled.

May stood up, "I'll be right back," she stepped out of the room, and came back in a minute later with a bottle of pills.

"What's this?" Wally asked.

May dumped a tiny pill into her hand and handed to him, "It's called Lorazepam. Your psychiatrist prescribed this for your anxiety. I hope that this will help you feel better."

"I hope so too..." Wally responded, swallowing the pill.

* * *

The next day, May grabbed the car keys of the kitchen counter and yelled up the stairs, "Wally, it's time to go!"

"Coming!" Wally yelled back down. He got out of bed, got dressed, and ran down the stairs.

"Feeling any better today?" asked May.

Wally turned his eyes down towards the floor, "I... guess... so..."

"Well you can talk to Lily about it when we get there." May responded.

They hopped into the car and drove to Rustboro Hospital, parked their car, and walked into the hospital.

Sitting in the waiting room, Wally began to feel scared. Scared of his secret getting out to those who wouldn't understand. Scared of being judged.

"Remember what you're going to talk to her about," May said to him.

"Okay..." he replied uneasily.

"Wally Kincaid," his therapist, Lily Roth, said to him from the doorway.

Wally stood up and walked up to Lily and into her office. He was breathing so hard, his chest tightened up, despite the fact that he had fully recovered from his asthma – thanks to an experimental treatment – two years ago. No, this time it was because he was terrified out of his wits about confessing his secret to a person whom he had only been talking to for about six months, when he moved in with May and she started to get him the mental help that he needs.

"How have you been feeling lately?" she asked.

"Not that good..." Wally responded.

"Tell me what's been going on." she stated.

"Well..." he trailed off. _I'm really gonna tell her now..._

"Are you okay?"

Then he broke down crying, "No, I'm not!"

"What's wrong?"

He rolled up his sleeve, revealing his scars, "I've been self-harming..."

"How long have you been doing this?"

"About a year."

"Don't worry, Wally," Lily responded, "I'm here to help you."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Wally came out of the therapist's office to greet May.

"How did it go?"

"It went fine."

"Did you talk to her about it?"

"Yeah."

Then, Wally remembered something that Lily had said to him, "Hey May, do you think that we can pick up a notebook or something like that?"

"Yeah. Why?" May responded.

Wally replied with, "Lily said this it might help if I write down what I'm feeling."

"That sounds like a good idea," May responded.

Wally was trying so hard to keep up this facade that he was feeling better, when in reality his depression was killing him inside.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as May and Wally walked in through the front door, they were met with the surprise of Brendan sitting on the sofa.

"Brenny, when I gave you the key to my house, I didn't mean come over when we're not home." said May.

"Well, I was waiting for you guys to get home so we could play Call of Duty together."

"You have an X-Box Live account, you can just get on that."

Brendan shrugged, "X-Box Live fucking banned me for camping. Can you believe that?!"

"Well, duh!" May responded, crossing her arms, "It's against the rules."

Brendan then became indignant and said, "Microsoft can't tell me how to play a game that _I_ spent _my_ hard-earned money on! If I wanna get on and camp, that's my right, because _I_ spent the money!"

"No! Just because you spent the money on the damn game doesn't mean you get to do whatever the fuck you want with it! You have to obey the rules!" May shouted.

Then, the bickering started. Their arguing always added to Wally's stress. He ran upstairs to his room with the notebook and mechanical pencils that May had bought him at Staples on the way home from the hospital.

Wally layed down on his stomach on the bed with his notebook and began writing furiously. He just felt so sad and angry with the world, he just wanted to scream at the top of his lungs.

He wanted to take a blade or a flame to his skin so badly. Trying to prevent himself from doing so, he kept his therapist's words in his mind, _"When you self-harm, it only reinforces the cycle of self-blame and self-hatred that has consumed you."_

But he didn't know what else to do.

_I can't stand it anymore! I have to cut!_ He reached for the nightstand drawer and opened it, only to find that all the razor blades and pocket lighters were gone. _May must have taken them..._

He ran frantically through his mind for something to alleviate his despair, but to no avail. The monsters in his head had won. Perhaps he had become a monster himself...

All he wanted to do is give up.

He noticed a full bottle of sleeping pills sitting on the nightstand, grabbed it, and swallowed all the pills in the bottle. He then layed down on the bed, curled up into a ball, and prepared to be finally free of his pain.

* * *

A little while later, May came upstairs, knocked on Wally's bedroom door, and said, "I know that you've been feeling rather blue lately, so Brendan and I decided that the three of us should go out for dinner, and we were gonna let you decide where we should go."

No response.

"Wally?"

Still no response.

She opened the bedroom door and saw him curled up on the bed.

She smiled and said, "Time to wake up, sleepy head," she walked up to him and gently shook his body a few times, "Come on, wake up..." she flipped him onto his back and noticed how pale his face was.

Then, her heart skipped a beat when she saw the empty sleeping pill bottle that she just had filled up at the pharmacy earlier that day.

May let out a piercing scream.

Brendan rushed up the stairs and said, "What the hell hap– Oh my Arceus! Wally!"

"Brendan! Call for help!" May shouted frantically.

Without hesitation, Brendan pulled out his PokéNav and immediately dialed 9-1-1 and put the device on speakerphone so they could both hear the operator's instructions.

"9-1-1. What's your emergency?"

"M-My f-friend," Brendan stuttered, noticing the empty sleeping pill bottle on the bed, "I-I think he tried to kill himself! It looks like he swallowed a bottle full of sleeping pills!"

"Is he breathing?" the operator asked.

Brendan placed his hand in front of Wally's nose and mouth, "Yes, but barely," he stated.

"Do you know how to preform hands-only CPR?"

"I do!" May piped up.

"Do that, we're sending an ambulance right now."

"Okay," she responded as she dragged Wally off of his bed and onto the floor and started giving him chest compressions.

After a few minutes of that, Wally's eyes fluttered a bit as he let out a weak groan.

"Wait a sec!" said May, "He's started responding!"

"What... what's going on?" Wally groaned.

"You're gonna be okay," May reassured him, "An ambulance is gonna come and take you to the hospital."

"Monster... monster..." he started babbling.

"What do you mean?" May asked.

"I've... turned into... a monster..."

Sirens. Wally was in the EMT's hands now.

* * *

May and Brendan sat next to each other in the hospital waiting room, waiting to learn of their friend's fate.

A nurse walked into the room and approached the couple.

"How's Wally?" May asked, concern evident in her voice

"Your friend is doing just fine," the nurse responded, "But we want to keep him here for a few days for a psychiatric evaluation."

"Psychiatric evaluation?" Brendan responded.

"The young man on the phone told the 9-1-1 operator that Wally tried to kill himself," the nurse replied, turning to Brendan, "Was that you?"

"That's what I assumed when I saw the empty bottle," Brendan responded.

"Enough on that," said the nurse "He told me that he really wants to see you guys. If you like, you can visit with him now."

"That would be great!" May and Brendan spoke in unison.

So the nurse led them to Wally's room, where he was sitting in bed, gazing downward into his lap.

"Wally!" Brendan and May exclaimed happily, running up to him and wrapping him in their arms simultaneously.

"Hello..." Wally mumbled uneasily, averting his gaze from his friends.

"Wally..." Brendan spoke to him somberly, the smile disappearing from his face, "Why did you do this to yourself?"

Wally closed his eyes and replied sorrowfully, "I was just tired of fighting... I just wanted to be free of my unending pain..."

Tears began welling up in Brendan's eyes, "But... I thought that you were getting better..."

Wally began crying his eyes out and said, "Don't you see?! I don't _deserve_ to get better! _Everyone_ would benefit if I just ended my life!"

Hot tears began streaming down both May and Brendan's faces, "Please don't talk that way! There's nothing wrong with you! You are perfect the way you are!" Brendan responded sorrowfully.

Brendan sighed as Wally continued sobbing and said, "Can I step out for a moment? Just to regain my composure?"

"Okay," May replied.

As Brendan left the room, May sat down on the hospital bed next to Wally, placed her arm around his shoulders, and began squeezing his hand.

"Don't worry, Wally. We're here for you." she spoke to him sympathetically.

All of this caused Wally's crying to subside and his face to feel hot and to turn the color of a strawberry. May knew him as an 'innocent little boy', but that didn't change the fact that he was still a hormonal teenager. After all, he had been in love her for a long time.

As she held his hand and rubbed her thumb across his, he resisted the urge to stick his tongue in her mouth right then and there. Brendan was normally a rather mellow guy, but Wally knew that he would flip out if he saw his 'little buddy' making out with his girlfriend.

_Geez, Brendan's been out there for a long time,_ May thought, _Maybe I should check on him._ She then turned to Wally and said, "Can you excuse me for a moment?"

"Okay..."

So May stood up and stepped out of the room. Immediately after leaving the room, she noticed Brendan leaning up against the wall, eyes puffy and bloodshot from crying.

"Are you okay, Brenny? I've never seen you so emotional before..." May asked out of concern.

Brendan let out a deep sigh, "I'm fine," he mumbled, "I'm j-just s-scared..." he stuttered, letting a few more tears fall down his face.

"Scared? About what?" asked May.

"A-About W-Wally..." he responded, "I just want my little buddy to get better! I thought he was at first, but now he just tried to off himself! I don't want him to die, but I'm absolutely terrified that he will!" he said as he sobbed harder.

May approached him with an embrace and a kiss and said, "Listen, I know that this can disheartening, but we're going to help him. Don't be too worried, just think positive and we'll do everything we can for him."

Brendan nodded as his tears began to subside and his lips curled into a slight smile.

"May Daniels!" a female voice called out to them from down the hall. They turned around to see a twenty-something woman with shoulder-length green hair, sky-blue eyes, and similar features to Wally. It was Wally's cousin, Wanda.

"Wanda? What are you doing here?" May asked.

"Your father Norman called me about his suicide attempt." Wanda replied, tears welling up in her eyes. She then turned to Brendan and said, "I don't believe I've met you before."

"Well, allow me to introduce myself," Brendan replied, "My name is Brendan Birch, I'm May's boyfriend and a friend of Wally," he said, reaching out his hand for a handshake.

Wanda met his handshake, "Wanda Chapman, nice to meet you," she then gave him an inquisitive glance, "Birch. Are you related to the Professor at all?"

"Actually, yes," Brendan responded, "I'm his son."

Wanda then turned to May and said, "How did Wally try to kill himself?"

"He swallowed a bottle full of sleeping pills."

"How long has he been living with you?"

"About six months."

"I see. Is this first time he tried this since moving in with you?"

"Yes. At least that I'm aware of."

Wanda placed her hand on May's shoulder and said, "Thank you for saving Wally."

May was somewhat taken aback by Wanda's reaction, "You're not angry with me?"

"Not at all," Wanda replied, "This is probably the longest he's gone without trying to kill himself since he was eleven years old."

"Oh, Arceus..." Brendan mumbled, "We didn't truly realize how much he was suffering..."

"The nurse told me that they're going to give him a psychiatric evaluation," May said, "Hopefully the doctors will find a way to help him."


	4. Chapter 4

May arrived home and went up to Wally's room to prepare it for when he came home. The hospital staff said that he would be able to come home tomorrow, so she wanted everything to be ready for him.

As she started to make his bed, she noticed the notebook that Lily had him write down his feelings in. May was surprised that Wally had been able to write over half-way through the notebook in just a few short hours. She knew that she should respect his privacy, but her curiosity got the better of her, so she opened up the the notebook and started reading what he'd written.

And she was absolutely horrified by what she saw.

Obituaries, funeral plans, death-related poetry, and the like. _Oh my Arceus!He really did want to die that badly!_

May then noticed that one of Wally's Pokéballs was wiggling around on the nightstand. She picked it up and released the Pokémon inside. It was Wally's first Pokémon, his Gardevoir, Perseus.

He sat on Wally's bed and gave May a sad look.

_"__Where's Wally?" _Perseus asked her telepathically. Gardevoir, being a psychic type, was able to communicate in such a way.

"He's in the hospital," May responded, "He'll be home tomorrow."

_"__Why did he try to take his own life?"_

May sighed, "All I can say is that... he's at war with himself..."

_"__Why does the hate himself so much?"_

"He has a mental illness," May responded, "Two, actually. He has Depression and Anxiety. That's why he hates himself."

_"__Is he ever going to get better?"_

"Don't worry, Perseus. We'll do everything we can to help him get better."

* * *

May walked downstairs to the living room and sat down on the sofa and started thinking. Thinking about Wally.

"Are you okay, May?" Brendan asked, plopping down on the sofa next to her and placing his arm around her shoulders.

"I'm fine," she responded.

Knock-knock.

May got up off the couch and answered the door. It was Wally's cousin, Wanda, at the door.

"Hello Wanda," May greeted, "Come in," they made their way into the living room and sat down, "What brings you here today?"

Wanda sighed, "I wanted to talk to you about some things going on with Wally,"

"Why didn't you talk to us about this at the hospital?" asked Brendan.

"Well..." Wanda responded, "I didn't want to bring this up in a public place where other people could potentially hear."

"Okay..." May replied, "So... what did you want to talk about?"

Wanda took a deep breath and spoke, "The spirits living in Wally's body..."

"Spirits?" asked May.

"What do you mean?" added Brendan.

"Um, how do I put this?" Wanda pondered, "Well, since he was a young child, he's had the spirits of other children hanging around him. Most of the time, he would just talk to them and play with them, but sometimes they'd take over his body."

"Go on..."

"But then..." Wanda trailed off.

"Yes?" May asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well... one of the spirits turned hostile one day. This spirit, named Mark, would take over his body at the most inconvenient times and start screaming at and attacking people at the slightest upset," said Wanda.

"That's strange," May wondered aloud, "I've never noticed any other spirits around the house or any evidence of any of his other personalities in the whole time he's lived with me..."

"I haven't noticed any of this either," Brendan added.

"Well, he wears these copper bracelets that suppress the spirits and contain his powers," Wanda responded.

"His powers? Did I miss something back there?" May asked, wearing a puzzled expression on her face.

"Oh, I must have forgotten to tell you to about that before," Wanda replied, looking somewhat embarrassed for forgetting to mention that, "Since Wally was a toddler, he's had some sort of psychic powers. He would tell people about things that would happen in the future or things that happened in the past that he had no way of knowing about, or even listen to their thoughts."

"I see..."

"Later, he started to be able to manipulate objects with his mind. It started harmlessly enough, but then it started to turn violent. He started to throw objects at people, and even throwing the people themselves!"

"Oh my god!" Brendan exclaimed.

Wanda turned her gaze downward and said, "My parents – his aunt and uncle – are complete religious wing-nuts, who thought he was possessed by the devil – after realizing he actually had a problem and wasn't just being selfish for being depressed."

"They eventually decided that they didn't want a so-called 'demon child' in their home," she continued, "So, now that his asthma was no longer an issue, they decided to ship him back to his parents in Petalburg, where the abuse he's suffered from at their hands only got worse."

"Abuse?" asked Brendan.

"I never knew anything about him being abused." May added.

"He doesn't like to talk about it," Wanda responded, "But the gist of it is that his parents basically treated him like their own personal punching bag, along with calling him horrible names, constantly telling him that he's ugly, that he's stupid, that he's worthless, that he's a failure, that they wish that he had never been born. The only real reason they had him was to keep their relationship together."

"I had no idea..." said May. Then, she remembered what had happened to his parents. That his parents had been stabbed to death with knives from their own kitchen in the middle of the night, that the knives had no detectable fingerprints on them, that Wally was found hiding in a closet when the cops came.

"Wanda..." May spoke uneasily, "Do you think that this Mark might have had something to do with his parents' murder?"

"That's what I thought," Wanda responded, "Not like it matters, really. Those monsters fucking got what they deserved."

* * *

During the drive home from the hospital, Wally just gazed out the car window, staring off into space. The copper bracelets had suppressed most of his powers, but he could still hear May's thoughts to some extent. He knew that Wanda had told her and Brendan about his powers and the spirits in his body.

"Are you okay, Wally?" asked May, concern evident in her voice.

Wally sighed, "I'm fine..." he replied in an emotionally distant tone, eyes never leaving the window. He didn't even need to read her mind to know that she didn't buy it.

"You know," May spoke to him in a kind voice, "I miss your smile, Wally."

"Yeah, well, I miss being able to smile," he responded.

"And your laugh," she continued, "Hearing you laugh always made my day brighter. It made everyone's day brighter."

"Thanks," a tiny voice replied. It made him feel a bit closer to being worthy of life, knowing that he made at least one person in this world happy.

They arrived home a few minutes later. As soon as Wally sat down on the couch, he heard the front door fly open with a loud bang, causing him to jump in fright.

"HEY EVERYBODY!" Brendan shouted from the open doorway.

"Goddamn Brendan! Don't scare me like that!" Wally responded irritatedly.

"Oh, sorry little buddy," Brendan replied apologetically, "Hey, would you guys like to go get some ice cream? That sounds like a good welcome home present for you, Wally!"

"Yeah. That sounds nice," Wally responded.

Then, another voice called out, "Hey, May. Has Wally been taking his medication everyday– What is HE doing here?!" Wally then turned over towards the front door to see May's father, Norman, with a furious look on his face and pointing at Brendan.

"He's here to hang out with us," May responded sternly.

"I told you this a million times, May!" Norman exclaimed, "I don't want you two hanging around him! He's nothing but trouble!"

"What's so wrong with hanging out with my own fucking boyfriend?!" May retorted.

"The problem is that you shouldn't be dating this stupid fuck in the first place!" Norman responded angrily.

"Woah, dude. Don't be so rude. What did I ever do to you?" Brendan added.

"DON'T CALL ME DUDE!" Norman roared.

"Okay, dude," Brendan retorted.

Norman immediately slapped his daughter's boyfriend across the face, "GET OUT!" he screamed.

"Make me!"

With that, Wally ran upstairs to escape everything. Things only go worse when people were fighting.

* * *

Around nightfall, Wally was sitting on the front porch awning outside his bedroom window, staring into the starry night sky, the waxing crescent moon in the perfect spot in the sky for him to appreciate its beauty. He loved watching the night sky. It made him feel at peace. At least, as close to peace as possible when you had a malevolent spirit living inside your body.

"Hey, little buddy!" a voice called out to him from the other side of the bedroom window, interrupting his train of thought. He turned towards the window to see Brendan standing by the window holding a beer in his right hand.

"Hey, Brendan..." Wally responded in a small voice, "I thought Norman kicked you out..."

"Well, I just came back here after he left," Brendan replied, flashing a guiltless grin as he climbed through the window and sat down on the awning next to Wally.

"I brought you a soda," Brendan added, holding out a can of pop in front of Wally, "Do you want a soda?" he asked.

"No thanks," Wally replied, "If I drink it, I'll be up all night..."

Brendan was becoming increasingly worried about his best friend. Wally meant everything to him, even when Wally was at his most depressed and distant. Brendan know that Wally had secrets to hide from him, hell, he had hidden Mark from him for the longest time.

But, Brendan had his own secret to hide from Wally. Brendan was bisexual, and the only people who knew were May and his family. However, there was more that he had to hide. He loved May, but for quite a while, he'd had a bit of a crush on the younger boy, but he could never tell.

"So... How have you been doing?" Brendan asked.

"Terrible," Wally replied flatly.

"Aww... I hate to hear that..." Brendan responded, ruffling the boy's light green hair. Then, Brendan's facial expression changed to one of concern, "This isn't about Mark, is it?" he asked before quickly covering up his mouth.

"Sorry! I didn't mean– Please just forget I said that!" he stuttered, trying to backpedal on his words.

"It's okay..." Wally replied, "I already know that Wanda told you two..."

"Well, we're here for you, Wally. Please don't ever give up..." Brendan reassured him.

As much as Wally tried to numb himself out, all he could do is feel infinite despair. He could feel the spirits welling up in his body, haunting him.

_You're here, aren't you..._


	5. Chapter 5

Wally slowly awoke as the sunlight shone through his bedroom window. He let out a slight groan as the sunlight hit his eyes, forcing him to groggily rise from his bed. The nightmares that terrorized him in his sleep had been getting worse lately. That recurring nightmare of his own funeral, fewer and fewer people attending each time, with that voice taunting him from inside the casket.

_That voice..._

"Hey, Wally..." May's warm voice spoke to him from the bedroom doorway.

"Hey," Wally responded. He noticed how emotionless his voice had been sounding lately, but it didn't matter. He'd stopped caring whether he lived or died a long time ago.

"Well you need to get outta bed and get dressed soon," said May, "We need to head out to Brendan's house before noon."

"Brendan's house, but why?" Wally asked.

May sighed, "I told you this several times last week. His little brother Cody's birthday is today. He's turning eleven, and we're going to his birthday party at noon."

"Oh..." Wally moaned, "Do I have to?"

"Yes, you do," May replied, "I promised Brendan that I'd go, and I don't trust you enough to leave you home alone, considering what happened a few days ago."

So he got out of bed, got dressed, and walked downstairs to meet May.

"Are you ready to go?" May asked.

"I guess..." Wally replied uneasily.

"Well, just breathe and try to have fun. Just come to me if you're having trouble dealing with your emotions," May responded, "I'm here for you."

May and Wally arrived at the Birches' house about a couple minutes or so later. Wally took deep breaths and tried to relax, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the monsters in his soul were starting to consume his heart.

"Hey there, guys!" Brendan's father, whom was also the Hoenn region's Pokémon Professor, Martin Birch, greeted them at the door.

"Hey, Professor Birch!" May responded in a chipper tone, then nudged Wally with her elbow and whispered to him, "Say hi, Wally."

"Hello."

"Well, come in!" Mr. Birch replied jovially, welcoming them into his house.

Even though he was in a room full of people, Wally had never felt this lonely in his life. He just wanted to hide in a corner and cry his eyes out.

"Hey, May! Hey, Wally!" Brendan spoke loudly while running towards the two of them and embraced May and in a hug and gave her a kiss.

"How ya doing, Wally?" Mr. Birch asked him, ruffling the child's hair.

"I'm doing fine," Wally responded uneasily, trying and failing to make his lie sound convincing.

"Well, someone's grumpy today," Mr. Birch replied joyously, trying to lift Wally's spirits.

"Yeah, well, you're still fat," Wally replied snarkily.

Mr. Birch let out a lighthearted laugh, "Yeah, Wally here tells it like it is!" he countered.

So the party started, a few more people showed up, and Wally could literally feel himself break inside. He just wanted to die so bad.

After everyone played a few party games, Wally couldn't take it anymore and locked himself in the bathroom and started to cry. He then reached into his front pocket and pulled out a pocket knife that he'd found on May's kitchen counter, presumably left there yesterday by Norman, and took the blade to the flesh of his arm. He knew that he shouldn't have done it, but it was the only thing keeping his head above water.

Knock-knock.

"Wally, I can here you crying in there," Mr. Birch said to him from the other side of the door, "Come on out and eat some cake with us."

"Go away!" Wally sobbed.

"Oh, don't be that way," Mr. Birch said as he turned the doorknob and opened the door, only to gasp in fright upon seeing Wally's bloody arm.

"Oh my god, Wally! What have you been doing to yourself?!"

After all the party guests were cleared out of the Birches' home, Mr. Birch confronted Brendan and May about the event that had taken place.

"Did you know that Wally's been cutting himself, son?" he asked Brendan.

"What?! He been cutting himself?!" Brendan exclaimed, tears welling up in his eyes, "What do you mean?!"

"I saw him cutting his arm in the bathroom," his father responded. May wore a guilty expression on her face.

Mr. Birch then turned to May and asked, "What about you? Did you have any idea that this was going on?"

May tilted her head downward and let out a tiny voice, "Yes..."

Brendan shot May a terrified glance and said, "Oh my god! Why didn't you tell me, May?! I thought you trusted me!"

Tears began rushing down her face as she spoke, "Wally begged me not to tell! I was just trying to respect his privacy! Arceus knows that is my fucking idiot bipolar father found out about it, he'd find some way to make the information public and turn him into some sort of public freak show!"

"May, I'm sorry! But this is _not_ something that should be kept a secret! If you find out that this is going on, you _need_ to speak up!" Mr. Birch lectured her.

"I had him talk to his therapist!"

"Well he obviously didn't actually talk to them if he's still cutting himself!"

"You don't get it all, do you?!" May retorted, "This isn't the kinda problem that can cure itself overnight! This kind of stuff takes time to fix!"

Wally listened to the conversation at a distance, feeling utterly ashamed of his actions. He hated being such a disappointment to the people that cared about him, causing him to start to feel himself die a little inside.

Suddenly, a loud banging was heard from the front door.

"I'll get it," Mr. Birch said, walking towards the door. He turned the knob and opened the door, only to see Norman's tall, imposing figure staring him down.

"What do _you_ want here?!" Mr. Birch exclaimed.

"My daughter's here! Isn't she?!" Norman shouted, forcing his way past Martin and storming towards May and Brendan.

"Come on, May! Get Wally! We're leaving right now and never coming back!" Norman thundered.

Wally shrunk back around the corner, not wanting to cause the anger of his legal guardian to be directed at him.

"You know that you're no longer welcome here!" Martin shouted at Norman, "Now tell me, what the fuck are you doing here?"

Wally couldn't help but be shocked by the last sentence spoken by Mr. Birch, considering that he rarely swore, especially in such a severe and angry manner.

"Did you not just hear me two seconds ago?!" Norman screamed "I came to get my fucking kids out of your trash-filled house and away from you and your scummy fucking family!"

"You will NOT talk that way about my family!" Martin screamed back, "I honestly have no idea how your daughter is so level-headed while you're a complete fucking nut-job!"

Norman immediately lost it and shoved Martin to the floor,, "YOU WILL NEVER USE MY DAUGHTER AS A CARD AGAINST ME IN AN ARGUEMENT! GOT IT?!" he yelled at the top of his voice.

He then stormed over to May, grabbed her by the wrist, and shouted, "We are leaving RIGHT NOW!" trying to pull her along.

"No! I refuse!" she retorted.

In the midst of Norman's meltdown, Wally got a surge of bravery and emerged from the hallway, "Leave them alone!" he said to Norman, "What did they ever do to you?!"

Norman immediately took notice, gave Wally a dirty look, and exclaimed, "Maybe you should have a little respect, you little fuck! Keep in mind that I was the only one that was willing to take your faggot ass in after your parents were killed, considering no one else wanted you!"

Just hearing those words was enough to put Wally on the brink of tears. He depended on Norman to help take care of him, and this is how Norman really felt about him... It was just was too much to bear...

"Do you really need to threaten people?!" Martin exclaimed, climbing up from off the living room floor, "Why do you do this to my son and your own foster kid?!"

"Well, I could easily spend thousands on a lawyer to keep your trashy son away from my daughter, but I find this way far more effective!" Norman yelled.

Brendan rolled his eyes, "Oh sure, so you can spend thousands on a lawyer, thousands on gym modifications, thousands on landscaping, thousands on kitchen appliances, thousands on getting your roof re-shingled, but yet your fucking ex-wife is apparently robbing you blind with alimony payments!" he retorted, "You really are full of shit, aren't you, Norman?!"

_No! No! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!_ Wally screamed in his head, but was barely able to complete his thought, as a loud _pop_ rang out through the house. Wally nervously looked up and saw Brendan crouching on the floor, shaking with terror, staring up at Norman. There was a bullet hole in the wall, mere inches from where Brendan was standing, and Norman was holding a smoking pistol in his right hand.

"Y-you're f-fucking i-insane!" Brendan exclaimed in a shaky voice.

"If you honestly think that I wouldn't stuff this gun down your throat and blow your head clean off for what you just said!" Norman screamed, "If you ever piss me off again, I will fucking slay you!"

"I-I'm s-sorry..." Brendan whimpered pathetically, with an expression of pure terror painted on his face.

Wally was huddled on the hallway floor behind that same corner, absolutely terrified that Norman would snap harder and end up murdering everyone in the house. _Please... Please don't kill us... _he prayed.

Sirens. _Professor Birch's wife must have called the cops..._ Wally thought to himself.

Norman immediately took notice of the sirens, panicked, and dropped the gun, with an expression of guilt on his face.

"Police! Open up!" a police officer shouted from outside the front door.

Norman slowly moved towards the door, turned the knob, and opened the door for the cops.

The officers stormed into the house, "We just got a call from a woman telling us that there was a man in here waving around and firing off a gun!" the male police officer spoke to everyone in the room.

Norman sighed, "It was me..." he responded in a guilty tone, "I was the one who did this... I don't know what got into me..."

"Put your hands behind your back, sir!" the female officer exclaimed. Norman willingly complied. The officer immediately handcuffed him, read him his rights, and lead him out to the police cruiser.

Wally trembled in fear. He couldn't exactly explain why, but as bad as this was, he knew that things would only get worse...


End file.
